Three Western nations reviewed the case of Igor Makarov, a Cypriot entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former member of the UCI Management Committee, and reached the same conclusion: the sanctions against him should be lifted. Canada has reviewed the same case repeatedly and keeps reaching a different conclusion.
The United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have all delisted Makarov following independent governmental reviews. Canada has not — and has twice defended that decision in court. With millions of dollars in his Canadian assets frozen, Makarov has now taken the dispute to international arbitration, seeking at least CA$350 million in damages, according to an article by the National Post.
Makarov’s case raises a question: why does Canada remain the last Western country standing by its decision when its allies have already walked away from theirs?
Caught in the Crossfire of War
Born in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Makarov rose from champion Soviet-era cyclist to founder of ITERA, one of the first private natural gas companies in the former Soviet Union. By the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he had long divested from ITERA, selling it to state-owned Rosneft in 2013 for $2.9 billion, relocated to Cyprus, and invested in Canada’s energy sector, becoming one of the largest shareholders in Calgary-based oil and gas producer Spartan Delta Corp.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western governments moved swiftly to sanction individuals perceived as having ties to senior Russian officials. Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand all designated Makarov in 2022. His Canadian assets were frozen. Neither the United States nor the European Union has ever sanctioned him.
One by One, the Allies Walked Away
What makes Canada’s position increasingly difficult to justify is that several allied countries that once sanctioned Makarov have since reversed course. The UK delisted him on March 5, 2024, after his legal team filed a judicial review. British authorities concluded there was no legal basis to maintain the restrictions, accepting that Makarov’s company, ARETI International Group, no longer operated in the Russian energy sector and that he had sufficiently distanced himself from Russia after renouncing his Russian citizenship in June 2023.
Australia followed on May 22, 2025, after detailed submissions to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The minister for foreign affairs revoked the designation with immediate effect. New Zealand completed the pattern on September 12, 2025, after a formal review by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Each of these decisions followed an independent governmental review process. Taken together, they establish a compelling factual record that Makarov’s legal team has repeatedly placed before Canadian authorities: three allied democracies examined the same individual and ultimately concluded that sanctions were no longer justified, fully lifting the measures against him. That increasingly leaves Canada as an outlier among its closest partners.
Where the Canadian Case Stands
Canada’s rationale for maintaining its designation rests on a broader, more historically rooted assessment than on its current business dealings. Government documents describe Makarov as being “surrounded by Putin’s cronies” and allege that his wealth was built through a system of patronage and non-transparent deal-making that was inseparable from Russian state power.
The Canada Gazette notice from August 2023 states that Makarov “benefited from close associations with top government officials while brokering non-transparent Russian-Turkmen energy deals,” and that revenues generated through those arrangements “helped generate significant revenues that the Kremlin has relied on to finance its aggression in the near abroad, including Ukraine.”
Canada further assessed that Makarov had not made a sufficiently public denunciation of the Russian regime. Then-Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly wrote to him directly: “While you claim to be opposed to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, you have not issued any public statements denouncing the war in Ukraine or President Putin’s regime.”
However, according to an article on Global News, Makarov expressed his opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Canada rejected the private statement as insufficient and maintained that a public denunciation was required.
The Citizenship Loophole
A central element of Makarov’s early defense focused on what his legal team identified as a structural gap in Canada’s sanctions framework. The Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations initially applied only to Russian citizens and residents.
When Makarov renounced his Russian citizenship in June 2023, he argued the regulations no longer applied to him. Rather than acting on that argument, the Canadian government amended its regulations to extend coverage to former Russian nationals and relisted Makarov immediately under the revised law, without presenting new evidence against him.
A federal tribunal initially accepted his argument, acknowledging that the regulations did not apply to him. However, then-Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly re-added Makarov to the list, freezing his Canadian assets and casting doubt on the impartiality of Canadian regulatory oversight.
This stands in contrast to the United Kingdom’s approach. In March 2024, British authorities removed Makarov from their sanctions list after he renounced his Russian citizenship. After a judicial review, they found no substantive basis for continuing the restrictions.
This raises questions about the reliability of laws and regulations governing who can and can’t be sanctioned, as well as the court’s credibility in adhering to the rules it originally adopted.
What This Reveals About Canada’s Sanctions System
Canada’s handling of the Makarov case raises broader questions about how the country administers its sanctions regime. The decisions by the UK, Australia, and New Zealand to remove him from their lists may ultimately be among the strongest arguments for persuading Canada to do the same. But so far, that argument has not moved Ottawa.
Canada has now seen three close allies examine the same underlying facts and conclude that sanctions against Makarov were no longer justified — yet Ottawa continues to maintain its measures against him. It has amended its laws to prevent his removal, has twice defended those amendments in court, and faces an international arbitration claim over the consequences.
Right now, Igor Makarov is waiting for proceedings on his Request for Arbitration with the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, which he filed on Jan. 14, 2026, invoking the 2018 Canada-Moldova Investments Promotion and Protection Agreement and his Moldovan citizenship.
The question now is not just why Canada refuses to follow; it is what standard of evidence, if any, would ever be enough to change its mind.
